Loyal customers are the backbone of the cruise sector, and the industry must keep proving its value if it wants to continue to grow, writes Ruth Venn, P&O Cruises associate vice president of sales and distribution, for Cruise Trade News

The latest Annual Report from Cruise Trade News raises an important challenge for our sector. As the industry focuses heavily on attracting new-to-cruise guests, are we doing enough to demonstrate value to the customers who already know and love cruising?

It’s a fair question. Growth in capacity inevitably means we must introduce cruising to new audiences, but repeat guests remain the bedrock of any successful cruise line. Retention is not just commercially efficient, it’s also a powerful indicator that the experience genuinely delivers.

At P&O Cruises, we saw that first-hand last year. In 2025, we carried more past guests than we were expecting, highlighting that when guests understand what a cruise holiday offers – in terms of the quality and the ease – they come back. We continue to see strong confidence from our repeat guests, and that loyalty and clarity of demand has been evident in the early interest and momentum we’re seeing around longer lead opportunities such as Arcadia’s 2028 world cruise.

I was also interested to read that, according to the Cruise Trade News Annual Report, of the respondents who are unlikely to cruise again in the next two years, 42 per cent say it’s because they’ve decided to try a different type of holiday.

I say this because ensuring strong repeat rates starts with delivering consistency and trust. Guests know what a P&O Cruises holiday stands for: a warm British welcome, outstanding food from the likes of Marco Pierre White, entertainment that rivals the West End, and the freedom to see multiple destinations without the friction of constant packing and travelling.

But it’s also about evolution. Repeat guests don’t want the same holiday every time; they want familiarity combined with something new. That might be a new dining experience, a different itinerary or a fresh onboard partnership – such as Pete Tong performing on Arvia in Ibiza this September.

Agents remain one of the most trusted voices in travel and are uniquely positioned to translate the cruise experience into tangible benefits for customers

Value is also central. While cruising has always offered strong comparative value, we recognise the importance of making that proposition clearer and easier to navigate. That’s one of the reasons we recently introduced a new all-inclusive fare type, giving guests the option of a simpler, more flexible experience at the point of booking. It removes uncertainty and helps both guests and agents communicate the overall value of the holiday more confidently.

The report also touches on onboard sales and promotions. This is another area where we’re seeing encouraging momentum. Onboard bookings continue to grow strongly, which reflects both guest satisfaction and the effectiveness of making it easy to plan the next holiday while the current one is still fresh in mind.

We’re increasingly seeing guests make decisions while on board, so we need to ensure our propositions and offers are appealing, relevant and genuinely add value.
For travel agents, there is a significant opportunity here. Agents remain one of the most trusted voices in travel and are uniquely positioned to translate the cruise experience into tangible benefits for customers.

The most successful agents are those who talk about cruising in clear, practical terms: what’s included, how much guests can realistically expect to spend onboard, and why visiting multiple destinations on one trip can represent exceptional value compared with land-based alternatives.

Equally important is maintaining the relationship after the first booking – staying in touch, understanding what guests enjoyed most, and recommending the next itinerary that builds on that experience.

One statistic in the report that particularly stood out to me was the suggestion that the industry’s focus on new-to-cruise may have created a ‘strategic blind spot’ around loyalty. I wouldn’t describe it as a blind spot, but it is a timely reminder. The most powerful advocates for cruising are the people who already cruise.

Our role as an industry is to keep rewarding that loyalty – through clarity of value and close collaboration with our agent partners. If we get that balance right, repeat guests won’t just return, they’ll bring the next generation of cruisers with them.

Ruth Venn is P&O Cruises’ associate vice president of sales and distribution